Mar 19, 2007, 0:45 GMT
New Orleans, LA - Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 16 points before having to leave the game with a sprained ankle, and his teammates took over from there as Memphis downed Nevada, 78-62, in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Jeremy Hunt added 16 points for second-seeded Memphis (32-3), who extended the nation's longest winning streak to 24 games. Antonio Anderson registered 14 points and Andre Allen 10 for the Tigers, who will face Texas A&M on Thursday in San Antonio.
Nick Fazekas finished with 20 points and seven rebounds for seventh-seeded Nevada (29-5), which set a school record with 29 wins this season. Marcelus Kemp donated 18 points and Denis Ikovlev 11.
Despite losing Douglas-Roberts to an injury, Memphis shut down Nevada in the final 6:17 to secure the victory.
Douglas-Roberts went down with 8:11 to go. He was clearly in a lot of pain and had to be carried to the bench by two teammates. He was taken to the locker room and never returned to the bench.
'It is mild to moderate,' said Memphis coach John Calipari. 'I told him to rub some dirt on it you are playing on Thursday son. We don't know. If he can't go, he can't go. In that kind of game you can't be what 70 percent? We don't know yet. We got some time until Thursday. Will they move the game to Friday? No, I don't think so.'
Two Fazekas free-throws cut the Memphis lead to 64-62 with 6:17 left to play, but Fazekas made a mistake on each of the next two possessions. Fazekas traveled on the Wolf Pack's next possession and missed a short jumper on the ensuing trip down the floor.
The Tigers closed the game on a 14-0 run.
'I do feel like their length and athleticism and constant pressure wore on us,' said Nevada coach Mark Fox. 'We couldn't get a stop without sending them to the foul line. They made some foul shots and were able to set their defense every time. That was a big part of the game.'
Memphis, who came in shooting only 61 percent from the foul line, went 26- of-34 in the win.
After Nevada scored the first two points of the game, Memphis went on a 9-2 run, capped by a Hunt triple. The Tigers never relinquished the lead thereafter.
Memphis led 37-33 at the intermission.
Game Notes
Memphis outrebounded Nevada 40-30...The Tigers bench outscored the Wolf Pack's 31-2...Nevada shot just 5-of-21 from three-point range...Joey Dorsey, who came in shooting 46.5 percent from the line, made 10-of-12 free throws.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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